10 Uses for Lavender

For her birthday and Christmas every year, I present a gift of lavender to a dear friend of mine. She loves the fragrance and feels that its smoothing aroma is a natural stress reliever. Lavenders Lavandula are a genus of approximately twenty to thirty species of flowering plants in the mint family. Some cats are known to enjoy the scent as well, could it be because lavender stems from the mint family, the same as catnip?

The ancient Greeks referred to lavender as nardus, after the Syrian city of Naarda. In Roman times, lavender flowers were bartered for one hundred denarii per pound. That is the equivalent is fifty haircuts from a local barber or a farmer's months earnings. It would appear that this flower was highly revered.

Ten uses for lavender #1

Lavender can be used as an insect repellent. Combine a few drops, (more than two and less than twenty is the best gage for the definition of few) with some sunflower oil. Rub onto your skin. I have actually mixed mine with aloe vera and find it works well.

Ten uses for lavender #2

Have moths? Moreover, you find yourself wanting to try an alternative to the cedar mothballs with which you have grown up. Place sachets of dried lavender buds in closets, drawers, and anywhere else that you store clothes.

Ten uses for lavender #3

Do you have a stuffy nose? Lavender works as an inhalation device. Add five drops of essential lavender oil to a small bowl of steaming hot water and inhale. It will work wonders at clearing nasal passages.

Ten uses for lavender #4

Did you burn yourself while cooking dinner? I do so a lot... Rather than rub butter on it (a big no- no by the way) or just running cold water over the burn, I place a few drops of lavender oil on the burn and the run it over cold water. (Yes, I keep a small bottle on the windowpane above the kitchen sink.)

Ten uses for lavender #5

Have you heard of how vinegar is the best thing to soothe a sunburn? Well, to me, that is true. However, who really wants to go around smelling like vinegar all day? If the sunburn is not too severe, combine a few drops of lavender oil to mineral water and spray directly onto your skin.

Ten uses for lavender #6

Have you ever just wanted a restful and peaceful night's sleep? I am sure we all do and most of us can achieve that goal nightly. There are just times when that peacefulness seems to just be out of our reach with the thousand miles an hour clamor our brain is going trying to find time, time to get everything done. Spritz a few drops of lavender on your pillow will induce a restful sleep. The aroma is soothing and an excellent de-stressor.

Ten uses for lavender #7

Do use lotions and face creams? Look at the baby aisle- several of the top selling lotions and creams all contain lavender. Sprinkle a few drops of lavender essential oil in with your lotion and face cream. Romans believed lavender was excellent as a skin restorer.

Ten uses for lavender #8

Essential oil of lavender has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. If you find yourself with a headache and you do not have or wish to take any headache medicine, try rubbing a few drops onto your temples. It works similar to peppermint in this way. (The mint family is such a medicinal family!)

Ten uses for lavender #9

Being that lavender has antiseptic and anti inflammatory properties, is it any wonder that in World War II , hospitals used this an a disinfectant? Keep a spray bottle in underneath your kitchen counter filled with baking soda, essential lavender oil, and water. Mix in a few drops of rubbing alcohol and not only do you have a non-toxic fragrant disinfectant, but it also can work as a fly repellent.

Ten uses for lavender #10

Feel like something different for dinner? Add lavender flowers to your recipe. Lavender chicken is actually very good. There are some wonderful cookbooks out now with lavender recipes. Peruse them at your local library.